A staggering 173 people have been banned from member premises of a town centre safety partnership – because their behaviour and offending was not tolerated or welcomed.
These 173 are on top of a further five people on ASBOs banning them from entering the vicinity of town centres at all, because the extent of their offending and anti-social behaviour was so intolerable.
Retail exclusions forms a key part of the Business Crime Reduction Partnership, which currently runs in Aberdare and Pontypridd (including Talbot Green Retail Park) town centres.
It has seen town centre shops, licensed premises and businesses join forces with the Police, Council and other crime-fighting agencies to ensure the locations remain safe, enjoyable places for people of all ages to enjoy at any time of the day.
Member premises meet with the partner agencies on a regular basis to discuss crime prevention measures and forthcoming initiatives, as well as to share intelligence and information on offenders and crime patterns.
As well as regular meetings, member premises also communicate with each other – and police officers and CCTV operators – in real time via a shared radio link system that allows them to warn each other of offenders, crimes and share alerts.
The premises also work with partners on seasonal crime prevention campaigns during busy times such as Christmas and rugby internationals and benefit from crime reduction surveys in their premises, where the layout, stock display and store security is assessed and monitored to ensure staff and customers alike remain protected.
The stores that comprise the Business Crime Reduction Partnership are also responsible for funding and helping to deliver essential campaigns for the benefit of customers and the wider community, such as purse and handbag alarms, awareness-raising measures and more.
One of the biggest successes of the partnership has been the identification of, and gathering of intelligence against, individuals who are disruptive to and have a negative impact on the town centre environment.
This could be because of their behaviour, but also for offending such as theft, fraud, disorder and more.
As a result of this intelligence-gathering, 173 individuals have been identified and are now banned from all premises that are members of the Business Crime Reduction Partnerships in the respective towns.
On top of this, a further five offenders responsible for the same behaviour and offending have been banned from entering the vicinity of the town full stop, as a result of strict sanctions put on them by way of Anti Social Behaviour Orders.
All premises have information sheets that tell them who is excluded, to ensure the message that “out of one, out of all” is delivered.
CCTV staff and town centre neighbourhood policing teams also keep the information and can brief premises, via the shared radio system, if someone who is excluded enters the area.
Cllr Paul Cannon, Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration and Community Safety, said: “We all know safe town centres are strong town centres. We are proud that, thanks to the work of premises in partnership with other agencies, our locations remain safe, enjoyable places to visit for all.
“But we have had to work hard to create that environment and the Business Crime Reduction Partnership must take credit for that. Those who are members, shops and partner agencies alike, have committed to it and taken the work and initiatives forward with huge enthusiasm and professionalism and they are now reaping the rewards of their success.
“We do not want offenders or louts in our town centres and we have sent a strong message to them by banning them, by way of exclusion orders and ASBOS.
“I hope that serves as a warning to others and also as a reassurance to our town centre shoppers and visitors that they have a network of committed professionals working together on their behalf.”
For more information on the Business Crime Reduction Partnership, how you can join and the benefits it can bring, visit www.rctbusinesscrime.co.uk
